Nathaniel Ingram Spills the Beans on Upcoming ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’ Tribute Film!

Nathaniel Ingram and Zac Lockard are preparing to create a respectful fan film for all the loyal nut-jobs who still worship the classic Nickelodeon anthology series, Are You Afraid of the Dark? Given the fact that I just so happen to be one of those loyal nut-jobs, I had to do a little digging. I needed more information on the project. I needed it, I say!!

Fortunately for me, and the rest of you, Nathaniel was happy to sit down and dish on some details of his forthcoming tribute to one of the greatest young adult television shows created. So, if you call yourself a fan of Are You Afraid of the Dark? then sit back and absorb some awesome 411!

ATHM: Did you grow up watching Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Nathaniel Ingram: Yes I did. I remember the first time I watched it. My older sister came into my bedroom and changed the channel on the TV to Snick. She said “Check this out”. I instantly was hooked.

There literally wasn’t one episode I missed. I remember one of my favorites was “The Tale of the 13th Floor”. Always gave me the creeps.

ATHM: Why, after all these years did you decide to put together something for the AYAOTD fans?

NI: I knew I wanted to for a while. I’ve only been involved in film for a few years now and I knew I wanted to pay a tribute to something that partially inspired me to become a horror writer. I also have been waiting for someone else to do this. I have seen many that have tried, but failed. If you’re going to pay a tribute you need to do it the right way. And yes… There is a right way.

ATHM: Will we get the classic campfire introduction?

NI: I won’t spoil too much, but yes. We do have a fresh Midnight Society. I don’t think it would be a proper ode to the original without the campfire scenes.

ATHM: Yeah, I suppose that campfire is in a way synonymous with Are You Afraid of the Dark?

NI: Exactly.

ATHM: Is it safe to assume this story is going to be completely original?

NI: Absolutely. I felt it was best to write the actual story from scratch. I mean… Why not? Though, I did decide to go a darker route with this particular film, it is still safe for the whole family.

ATHM: You mentioned The Tale of the 13th Floor. Any other episodes or specific characters that made a lasting impression on you?

NI: Oh man… I am sure I have a list that I could go on for hours about. I think my two most favorite episodes are a “The Tale of the Bookish Babysitter” and “The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner”. Those will always be stuck in my brain.

ATHM: Let me ask you this: Is it too late for this to appeal to the younger crowds? Are they already too desensitized for a piece like this? Furthermore, are you anticipating the bulk of fans to be in the 30-40 age range, grown folks who were watching it back when a new episode aired every week?

NI: I am really glad you asked this question, because it’s a topic I’ve been meaning to tackle.

I do think this can appeal to the younger horror fans. You see films like The Conjuring and Insidious, and whether the younger crowd wants to admit it or not, that is great horror and it is scary to an extent. So what I did was take the scare factor that I know will work and I warped it into something that will both scare us adults and teenagers. Emphasis on teenagers.

I am not aiming for children with this. I am aiming for pure nostalgia for us fans of the original series, and I am aiming for the scare factor of what makes teenagers jump. I know that we will have fans ranging from 13-40 years old.

ATHM: If it ends up being a large success, would you be interested in returning to the campfire again, or is this a respectful one off?

NI: As of right now this remains a one time project. I am not opposed to returning for more, but I honestly do not see that happening unless we go about earning the rights to revive the series. That is all up in the air to be quite honest. Do I WANT to reboot the show? Of course. Do I SEE that happening anytime soon? No, I don’t. I have two other projects in preproduction at the moment, so I am trying to stay focused on one thing at a time.

ATHM: Have you begun production at this point?

NI: We officially start filming on June 23rd. We have set our official wide release for October 31st (Halloween) this year. Our original release was October 27th, but that has turned into a public screening instead.

Excuse me…October 28th is the public screening. The 27th is a cast/crew only screening

ATHM: Where are you shooting the film?

NI: Our two locations are set in Guthrie, OK and Oklahoma City, OK.

ATHM: Are you looking to travel the crowd funding avenue to help make this a reality?

NI: Right now, we have an Indiegogo set up to pay our cast and crew. Although they have all volunteered to make this happen, we saw it was necessary to show our appreciation for everyone’s hard work. The money will strictly be paying for cast and whatever is left over goes to the crew.

This cast and crew work with the utmost professionalism and I personally cannot explain how proud of everyone I am. This is a dream come true for many of us.